NZCB InHouse magazine August/September 2020

Page 8

FROM NZCB —

Jason McClintock Group Technical Manager

What can I get away with? One New Zealand Certified Builder (NZCB) membership terminated and a twelve-month nightmare for the homeowner. This story does not have a happy ending... In 2019, a NZCB member undertook a new build project which was doomed as soon as he stepped on site. Not because it was a difficult build, as it was quite the opposite. The site was a builders’ dream – a regular shaped dwelling on a sandy beach-front site, slightly off the beaten track. The project was doomed from the start because the builder took the approach of “what can I get away with?” Unbelievably, it took quite some time before the question was asked of the builder “what the hell are you doing?”. Local council, a registered architect and an engineer had all given their approval, even though substitute materials had been used, workmanship was obviously of a poor standard and construction was not as per the consented plans. The roof was on and the cedar cladding was being installed when the homeowner called NZCB with concerns that things did not look right.

What lessons were learnt? When I rang the builder to ask if the cladding was the only problem, he was blind to the noxious environment he had created for himself and assured me everything else was “mint” and there were no other defects. I soon discovered that the builder’s attitude of “what can I get away with” was at times premeditated with the substitution of structural materials of a lower grade. The builder was given the opportunity to rectify these issues, however, the repairs were also doomed and described by another NZCB Builder as “as bad as it gets”. It got to the point where the mis-truths had to stop, and the council issued a ‘Notice to Fix’ to the builder, effectively shutting down the site.

Don’t get me wrong, the builder was quite capable of producing a good result and had been a longstanding member of the Association with a clean record. Unfortunately, however, a good result was never going to happen on this job, because he had lost sight of several basic principles: i.e. understanding what the building contract required of the builder, the rules of being a Licensed Building Practitioner and, most of all, respecting the homeowner and the trust they placed in him to deliver a beautiful project they can be proud of. To resolve this matter, it meant everybody had to take a loss. An outcome was negotiated, but to get there the homeowner spent every last dollar on building reports, lawyer’s advice and alternative accommodation. The builder also lost out as he dismantled the entire house back to a bare site. The homeowner, the builder and I all walked away wondering “how did it all go so wrong?”

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Articles inside

NEWS BITES

7min
pages 50-53

Easy protection of cut timber ends, with Abodo’s new Protector End Seal

1min
page 49

MiTek screw innovation

2min
page 48

Membrane refurbishment work – what’s consentable?

1min
page 47

Message from our Auckland BDM

2min
page 42

AST Trust update

1min
page 46

ITAB welcomes WITT partnership

1min
page 44

Stay safe, speak up

4min
pages 34-35

Three ways to stop playing the ‘what-if’ game

4min
pages 40-41

Why do I feel so angry?

3min
pages 38-39

Bad vibrations

2min
pages 36-37

To Corporatise, or not to Corporatise? That is the question

5min
pages 32-33

Jump in puddles

2min
page 27

Why you should be using Payment Claims

6min
pages 20-21

Updates from the Building Performance Team

4min
pages 22-23

Beyond green claims

4min
pages 24-25

OUR PEOPLE

2min
pages 28-29

Changes to tertiary education will impact the construction industry

4min
pages 30-31

Meeting your KiwiSaver obligations

2min
page 26

Halo Guarantee update

1min
page 10

Message from the Chief Executive

3min
pages 6-7

NZCB Board changes

3min
page 5

Four reasons why tech is vital post lockdown

2min
pages 18-19

Appliances at commercial prices

2min
pages 12-13

Message from the NZCB Board

2min
page 4

REVERE – submissions now open

4min
pages 16-17

Message from the Group Technical Manager

2min
pages 8-9
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